Archive for September, 2007

At times of peace, Germany’s Middle East policy has historically taken a secondary position—one subordinate to Germany’s primary policy toward Europe and America. While of secondary importance, it was a tool that could be used to manipulate the Middle Eastern Question by playing off Western powers against each other. Berlin’s goal was a peaceful penetration of the Ottoman Empire, and it had no colonial aspirations in the region. During the world wars, however, Berlin elevated its Middle East policy to primary status by instigating jihad in the enemy’s hinterland. Yet in recent years, Berlin has sought out policies on Middle East peace and Islam fitting the European framework.[1]

Esam Omeish, President of the Muslim American Society and a newly appointed member of the state’s Commission of Immigration, resigned Thursday, a few hours after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was informed of online videos, posted by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), showing Omeish railing against Israel and advocating “the jihad way.”

There is an outstanding scene in one of the Karate Kid movies in which a corrupt martial arts instructor’s students finally recognize his dishonesty and lack of character, throw their belts at his feet, and walk away in disgust. Almost half of the Senate’s Democrats and two thirds of the House’s Democrats have just done the same with MoveOn.org. These include former MoveOn.org candidates Bob Casey (PA), Bill Nelson (FL), Patrick Murphy (PA-08) and Nick Lampson (TX-22). This is the long-awaited break in the ranks that marks the end of MoveOn.org. It shows that many if not most Democrats are now more afraid of public opinion and common decency than they are of MoveOn.org’s organizing capabilities and George Soros’ money.

In 1921, the Iraqi Army was established in the British mandate, which had weak democratic institutions at the time of the first insurgency. The Iraqi public saw that its destiny was controlled by the British, whom it believed sought to exploit the country’s natural resources. In a backlash of nationalism, the public projected its aspirations for complete independence on the growing army. After 2003, the Americans reestablished an army in a state with weak democratic institutions during a period of civil internal conflict, and 82 years after the British mandate, the United States controlled Iraq’s destiny. Both the United Kingdom and the United States faced the same difficulties and produced the same reactions among the Iraqi public as they tried to create an Iraqi Army from “scratch.”

Ottawa, Canada – On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier condemned Burma’s military junta for the regime’s escalating assaults on freedom, democracy and individual liberty. The junta has long detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, abused other pro-democracy leaders and protesters, and denied free expression and free association to its citizens.

“Canadians applaud Minister Bernier’s firm support for democracy in Burma,” said Alastair Gordon, President, Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD). “The Minister must now demonstrate Canada’s commitment with decisive action aimed at ending the dictatorship, and restoring freedom to the Burmese people.”

This is the saving grace of American politics: the overwhelming power of the center; the adaptability of a naturally self-correcting system. If this were not the case, then certainly the top Democrats debating last night in New Hampshire would have continued to cater to their far-left constituency, and demanded the immediate pull-out of American troops from Iraq. No doubt we’ll here cries from the loony-left about how they’ve been “betrayed.” Here are the top Democratic contenders in their own words:

Columbia University’s President Bollinger accomplished three things by allowing Iran’s President Amadinejad a platform. Bollinger modeled the normalization of “dialogue” with our era’s Hitler; he gained for himself a world platform in which he indulged his ego (and tried to appease his donor base) by saying many of the “right” things; and he exposed the West’s weakest spot, namely our willingness to engage in fruitless and endless debate with evil instead of defeating it on the battlefield.

While the outside world hardly noticed, a significant and rapidly growing amount of money is now being managed in accord with Islamic law, the Shari’a. According to one study, “by the end of 2005, more than 300 institutions in over 65 jurisdictions were managing assets worth around US$700 billion to US$1 trillion in a Shari’ah-compatible manner.”

Nowhere do we see “Senator” or “Representative” in front of David Petraeus’ name. General Petraeus did not get a vote on “A joint resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq” in late 2002. As a soldier, he has merely carried out the lawful orders he received from our civilian government. The fact that Hillary Clinton voted to give him and other soldiers those orders, but has now joined MoveOn.org in attacking his personal character, proves her unfit to direct our Armed Forces in any capacity whatsoever.

“Following discussions with community leaders of several faiths, including a representative of CAIR’s Dallas-Fort Worth chapter, TSA officials have accepted a proposed modification to the August 4 policy. According to the updated policy, Muslim women who wear a head cover that is attached to the contour of the head, with no space between the scarf and the head, should not be subjected to a secondary screening. That style of cover is worn by the majority of Muslim women who wear scarves.”

Of course, Ahmadinejad hoped that his appearance at Columbia University would show how reasonable he is, but the implication of his denial of the existence of gays in Iran is complicated — and quite Freudian. Ahmadinejad is in fact implying that Iran is morally superior to the U.S., because it is free of the “perversion” (“lavat”) of homosexuality. Reasonable? Not according to Scott Long of Human Rights Watch:

“This is a sick joke,” …[and he added that]… Iran tortures gays under a penal code that punishes homosexuality between men with the death penalty.

The hallowed halls of New York City’s premiere Ivy League institution of higher learning, Columbia University, will never be the same for today the world’s leading despot graced its presence. Today, the master of propaganda, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the podium at Columbia’s World Leaders Forum and spewed forth his own brand of vituperative against America and Israel, while sprinkling in generous doses of lies and gross distortions of facts. Today, a Holocaust denier and executor of dissidents exploited the cherished freedoms of American society, all the while smiling like a Cheshire cat. Today, the new generation of progenitors of “freedom of speech” and “academic freedom” heaped praise upon themselves as they reveled in their latest victory.

DALLAS – The fate of five men accused of running the nation’s largest terrorist-financing front is in the hands of a jury.

The men, officers and employees at the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) are charged with conspiracy and with providing material support to Hamas through their charitable donations. Prosecutors say HLF funneled more than $12 million to Hamas, mostly through a network of social welfare charities in the West Bank and Gaza.